Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

Calls to area roofing companies have been piling up as quickly as the snow in recent days.

"It's unbelievable," said John Chatt, vice president of Todd Fritz Roofing in Rochester. "Since Saturday, we've gotten 260 calls for snow and ice removal from roofs alone. It's one of the worst winters I've ever seen."

The company has been able to keep up, but barely, and things are expected to get worse before they get better.

Buffalo's National Weather Service issued a wind chill advisory for Monroe County that continues through late Friday morning. There is a 50 percent chance of light snow on Friday with a 70 percent chance of snow showers on Saturday and Sunday.

"This has been a really cold, prolonged winter with no big thaws," said Jeff Kline, production manager of Graves Bros. Home Improvement Company in Rochester. "When it gets cold and stays cold like this, we have problems. Right now there is a big panic because of all the ice buildup, and we're going to get more snow this weekend."

Graves Bros. is also being hammered with phone calls the past few days from people across the county needing snow and ice removed from their roofs.

It's one of the worst winters Kline can remember in over a decade in terms of SOS ("Snow Off Stat" calls) — especially for homeowners with cape cods, houses with cathedral ceilings, gambrel-style roofs, or poorly insulated and ventilated old homes.

These types of homes are more prone to ice dams — thick ridges of solid ice that build up along the eaves of a roof and force water into the home.

"It's not a problem to just have snow on your roof," said Anthony Simonetti, owner of Anthony Simonetti Roofing in Rochester. "The problem comes when the gutters and front of the roof fill up with ice and cause ice dams."

Chatt said workers are seeing homes with water leaking into rooms indoors due to ice dams.

"People are calling with emergencies and pans and buckets all over their house," said Chatt.

He encourages people not to get up on their roofs to try to clear an ice dam but to call a professional. "You risk damaging your siding, gutters, and windows, not to mention yourself."

Eric Alexander is not a professional but lived in Valdez, Alaska, for 12 years before moving to Brockport last year.

He cleared his roof in Alaska more times he can count and was on the roof of his 1908 Brockport home a few days ago doing the same thing after a 300-pound chunk of ice formed in a valley in the roof line.

"The house has a goofy design because of an addition. And because it's such an old home, it has insulation issues," said Alexander. "The poor insulation melts everything on the roof down."

While he was not thrilled to be chipping away at a massive ice dam, he was thankful water had not seeped into the house, and things were not worse.

"It's not bad; it's nothing at all," said Alexander. "The snow here is light and fluffy. In Valdez, we could get 6 feet of snow in 24 hours, then you really have problems."

The chance of an ice dam can be reduced with proper insulation, well-ventilated attics, and heat cables installed on the roof.